Dunedin worst for crashes and casualties

Dunedin was the worst city in New Zealand for crashes and
crash casualties in 2012, and also claimed the unenviable
distinction of having had the most cycling fatalities during
the year, Ministry of Transport statistics show.

That year two cyclists died in Dunedin - double the number of
Wellington and Auckland, the only other metropolitan cities
to record a cycling fatality.

Dunedin also recorded five fatalities on city roads that
year, equal with Hamilton and behind two other centres,
Christchurch (7) and Auckland (41).

In terms of crashes and casualties per 10,000 head of
population the city had the highest metropolitan rate at 28
and 37 respectively.

However, city road safety partners, including the Dunedin
City Council, police and the New Zealand Transport Agency,
said a road safety action plan would help reduce fatal and
serious road accidents.

Inspector Greg Sparrow said in the South there was a high
level of reporting of crashes.

''In addition, the longer-term trend for the South and
Dunedin Policing Area shows a reduction in the number of
crashes and the number of people killed and injured on the
roads.''

Driver behaviour, weather and road conditions and the local
Dunedin environment were all possible factors in a crash, but
partner agencies were working to reduce harm on city roads.

Police were targeting high-risk intersections and areas where
speed was a risk to safe road use.

''With our road safety partners we have had a recent focus on
cyclists and their need for high visibility on the roads.
Police are always working to make the roads safer for all
road users through education and enforcement.''

DCC acting group manager transportation Mike Harrison said
the council was working to reduce harm through actions and
intervention programmes ranging from education to
infrastructure changes, safe speed limits and safe road use.

Examples of infrastructure improvements included cycleways in
South Dunedin, state highway cycling improvements,
intersection upgrades, new guardrails and road widening on
Otago Peninsula.

The NZTA helped council with funding to improve cycling
safety on the local road network, including building a shared
cycle and pedestrian pathway on sections of Portobello Rd.

Last year cycle lanes through the city were widened and
bollards installed to separate motorists from cyclists, while
consultation had just closed on two separated cycle lane
proposals for the one-way system through the city. Also more
than half the 10km shared walking and cycling path on State
Highway 88 between Dunedin and Port Chalmers had been
completed.

Meanwhile, a separate cycling path had been provided as part
of the four-laning of the SH1 Caversham bypass in Dunedin
that opened in October 2012.

GW, you are perceptive. To be frank (cos Frank's dodging the
SIS), I should confess I'm a walker, and don't drive.
Actually, 3 years back, I walked with a Walker, a frame on
wheels, not a person. Driving aside, it was an Aucklander
dissing Dunedin that prompted my comment. Er, Bandiera Rosa!

I don't have any answers But I do agree in part with what you
say. It is dangerous driving on our st. Yes driving habits do
need to change. Better driver education, better roads,
parents taking a more active role to ensure kids get the best
driver education they can. CCTV cameras on top of the traffic
lights in problem areas to catch people, running red lights
etc. Drunk drivers should only ever get one chance. I don't
think you can change the driving habits of those who have
been driving for a long time but I do think with the right
input the driving habits of the young in the future can be
changed.

I'll admit I sometimes forget to indicate, I sometimes don't
look down enough at my speedo and as a result sometimes find
I am speeding. Like everyone I make mistakes but by I try to
learn from them. SO for a while I pay more attention I don't
speed I indicate every time. But there is always the time
when I forget.

I would also like to see more police on the corner more often
but I fear the police in Dunedin are under staffed.

At the end of the day, im sick of hearing about the "bad
Drivers In Dunedin". Bad driving is not just a Dunedin
problem. I have news for you we are no better or worse then
any one else.

If you want to see really bad driving go over to the west
coast and watch the tourist in their camper vans driving
along the coast rd from Greymouth to Westport. That will put
the scare into you every time following them.

This morning I was appalled to witness five vehicles running
red lights. The bus was a stale orange, could it have stopped
safely....maybe yes and maybe not but the three following
cars there is no excuse. Next intersection is a lone vehicle
running through red...we need to stop the injuries through
this carelessness. Separating the cycle lanes and engineering
road improvements will reduce some of the crashes but the
biggest improvement can be made immediately with no
consultation, loss of parking and zero dollars. Road users
and that's everybody motorised, pedalling and walking....be
observant, obey the rules and have consideration....remember
that you may be the only perfect perfect driver in the
city....doesn't matter who is in the right....crashes
hurt....

So, Ign, your theory is we should just catch buses and let
the Dunedin drivers continue to drive badly and kill
themselves or others?

I am afraid I have to drive anywhere up to 700kms a week
around Otago for work, as well as getting my kids to school,
etc, so have no choice other than to drive - or believe me,
here I wouldn't!

Again you are misjudging the driving in Auckland compared to
here. As we both seem to agree - there are bad drivers
everywhere, but, in Dunedin you see them literally within
seconds of getting on the road, where as in Auckland you may
go a day before you do. That, to me anyway, is a major
concern. Hand in hand with that is in Auckland you will
see a Police Patrol at least every five minutes of driving
(on average), here you can go days without seeing one,
despite reportedly the Police here being better resourced
than any other region in NZ.

So again I ask, what will change to lower the injuries and
deaths caused by the horrendous drivers in Dunedin, or do we
all just say "Oh well", shrug our shoulders, and hope it
isn't a family member of ours who is injured or killed
next.

Between Dunedin drivers and those in Auckland is there really
going by both links?. The driving in Auckland is just as bad
as in Dunedin. And I would suspect anywhere you go in NZ you
would find problems with the driving. It does not matter
where a person resides they will always find something to
complain about, myself included.

If you are not happy with the driving you see catch a bus and
stay off the roads, it will lower your stress levels which
will increase your live span and help save the environment at
the same time.

I agree with most of what you say 'DPet', in Auckland the
average Dunedin driver just would not be tolerated!

Some of the quite unique and rather strange things long term
Dunedin drivers do are:

1) Slow down for green lights, and speed up for orange/red!
(Though yes, red light running is certainly a problem around
all of NZ!)

2) Pedestrian crossings mean almost nothing to them.

3) Centre lines also mean almost nothing, even on straight
roads in the city you often see them cross the line!
Keep in mind though, a commenter on here once told me
that "That's because expert drivers cross the centre line" -
no, I kid you not.

4) You also very rarely see a Police Patrol - almost like
they have either given up with trying to teach the drivers
here the road rules, or they just don't care.

By the way 'Ign', of course there are some bad drivers on
Auckland roads - as there are everywhere, but the thing is in
Dunedin about 90% of the resident drivers are bad, compared
to maybe 10% in Auckland. Also, yes you are reading the
Stats wrong - which is why the headline is Dunedin has the
worst drivers (per capita).

Albert Square, see the problem with you and others is - you
know no different, so you think your driving and that of your
'Dunedin Comrades', is fine. Believe me, it isn't.

My qualification in being able to say that? 31 years of
a huge amount of driving, never had an accident, never had a
ticket. I also have an 'advanced drivers certificate' from
when I was an Ambulance Officer.

I would like to know at what time of the year these
fatalities occured because if it was mostly at winter time
then no amount of increase in jackboots is going to stop
water freezing. I see Clutha is almost double us in
casualties and Invercargill more than double us per capita in
fatalities, are we supposed to increase police over the whole
southern country just at winter time only because of what
some would say is collateral damage? I think not.

Oh really? My memory of Auckland driving, albeit 20 years
ago, is of Road Rage, and the other drivers were just as bad.
Dunedin drivers may dither and stare at old beatniks and
blondes, but they don't use vehicles as weapons, deliberating
driving at or over people several times to make sure.

Yes Dunedin drivers are pathetic. They often don't know
the road rules or how be considerate drivers. They have
fallen (like sheep - you are what you eat after all ) for our
simplistic national propaganda that 1. Speed = Death and 2.
Always give way, intersections are so scary! But they have
failed to actually become skilled drivers who know the rules
and pay attention (ohh that would be too difficult! and that
sounds a little bit racist) At intersections their
incompetant brains appear to give them a powerful urge to
give way to anyone and everyone and will wait, even when
there is lots of room, for someone to come along they can
give way to.

And then when they move foward they very gingerly accelerate
up to 42 kmh or perhaps even 45 km/h if they're feeling
naughty. They also don't know what they are doing at
roundabouts or when to indicate. We have a theory that
Dunners is just small enough for the dummies to drive badly
for years but get away with it, because in Auckland our idiot
drivers would be bullied and humiliated off the roads in a
week (great). I drove every day for one month in Auckland and
it was paradise compared to Dunedin.

GW_Scam you and I disagree on
something but this is one thing you and totally agree
on , I would also like to add that not only should there be
more regular patrols but there should be more foot patrols as
well, it's easy to act normal when up to something dodgy for
the few seconds while a uninterested patrol car drives past ,
a lot harder when they are actually walking towards you. It
would also give the public an increased chance to interact
with the police and show a more caring, human side of them,
which would be a start to reversing the slide in public
confidence, opinion and respect that has occured in the last
decade or so.

If the foot patrol sees something that requires a motorised
patrol they could be issued with that new fangled invention
called .... what was it again .... oh that's right a radio or
cell phone, and with the increased presence on our local
roads a nearby patrol can be dispatched.

They will be able to observe traffic offences first hand and
note down the licence plates of vechicals that are
misbehaving , vechicles will be more well behaved at
interections and more likely to obey rules like right of
ways, stop lights , pedestrians , etc.

All it needs is two things and increased presence and a
willingness to enforce the law and people safety.

Central govt has to do its part reqarding funding and
recognise the vast rural area that our police have to cover
and its diluting effects on the numbers and equipment
available to achieve this as well.

When was the last time you spent any real length of time in
Auckland walking or driving. I think you are remembering that
place with rose tinted glasses. I disagree that you need to
be driving the rds to see what really happening. Walk and
take the time to look around and be objective. Don't look at
it as a driver, look at it from someone who stands and
watches driving.
I didn't say that drivers in Dunedin are any worse or better
then anywhere else. What I was implying is that no matter
where you go you will find bad drivers.

The main difference from my point of view is the rds are much
better else where then they are here in Dunedin, And yes I
have and do drive as well as walk when I am in Auckland,
Wellington or elsewhere. And to be honest I don’t find much
difference in driving styles here in Dunedin to that of
Auckland we are 4th from the wrong end going by above so we
are not the worse drivers in NZ in 2012 and the 5th worse in
2013 so from what I can see we are getting better not worse
per cap Auckland on the other hand is getting worse not
better per cap, but Ii could be looking at it the wrong way.
cheers

IGN, you need to actually drive on Auckland's roads, for say
thirty years like I have, to come to the conclusion - there,
occassionally you see a bad driver. In Dunedin,
occasionally you see a good driver.

I am not being sarcastic, that's really is how it is.

To be fair, it is not just my opinion. Everyone I alk
to who comes here from another city, or overseas says the
same thing (often one of their first comments) "What is up
with the terrible drivers!" Come on, not everyone can
be imagining it, and the statistics do not lie I am afraid.

Own up Dunedin Drivers - you are terrible at driving, and you
need to start following the law before you too, kill or
injure someone, or yourself!

Having spent 4 ¼ weeks in Auckland late last year September
through November , I fail to see why people say Dunedin
drivers are the worse in NZ. I walk most places i go (not due
to any enviro reason, simply because I like to walk). While
in Auckland I lost count of the number of times I was nearly
hit by speeding cars. My wife and I sat outside the Auckland
Hospital for an hour from 5 30 to 6 30pm. And watched the
show. In that time a large number of cars blocked side roads,
used the bus lane to get to the head of the line, pulled out
of side roads and sat in the middle of the road because they
couldn't get into the lane they wanted too. I couldn't tell
you how many near misses we saw as there was too many to
count. Push bikes running red lights and also using the bus
lane and foot path to get to where they wanted to be. Every
time someone stopped to let people walk across the road
someone would sound their horn .

The fact that most roads in Auckland are better maintained,
are wider, and have more lanes properly helps to keep their
accident rates down. When i compare Auckland drivers with
Dunedin Drivers I see much less of the behaviours mentioned
above. Yes Dunedin Drivers can be just as bad. But I think
the main reason for higher rates in Dunedin is due to the
poor condition and the narrow roads we have to put up with
down here not the behaviour of our drivers.

I am so sick of seeing the 'excuses' from Police and others
that 'we have a higher reporting rate'. Firstly, how do
you know that? Secondly, it doesn't take more than
literally two minutes on Dunedin roads to see how horrendous
the standard of driving is, to see what the problem is.

What really makes me see red at the moment is just a few
minutes ago, I had a stereotypical 'Dunedin driver' beeping
at me, and abusing me because I dared to give way to someone
crossing at a Green Man signal - as per the law! Of
course the usual standard in Dunedin is to drive around
pedetrians, between them, or barely miss pedestrians as they
cross! No surprise to then see this same driver weave
lane to lane on the southern one way, no indicators, seeming
not to care whether there were other vehicles or not, again
fairly typical of many Dunedin drivers.

When will the Police here take the shocking statistics
seriously? What does it take to actually get them out
there, every day, monitoring intersections, taking a zero
tolerance approach - which is the only thing that will change
driving habbits. This approach needs to be long term,
not just one intersection every six weeks or so!

I have personally complianed to Police on three occassions
about Portsmouth Drive drivers, where in around 70% to 80%
never indicate lane changes. I am still to see, after
seven years of living here, even one traffic patrol actually
taking action on that road, unbelievable!

In fact, my wife and I have both commented we now hate having
to drive on Dunedin's roads, despite having to numerous times
each day for work, school, etc, as we literally fear for our
lives and those of our children due to the behaviour of other
drivers, and lack of any real Police action.